The lack of meat on KaTi's menu is far from the vegetarian Thai spot's most prominent quality. Instead, it's the seriously spicy and inordinately fragrant flavors packed into each dish. Even the tempeh—which is usually both a crutch and the downfall for meatless food—is a dense, tender sponge for the sauces of glazy noodle stir fries, like the surprisingly floral Tom Yum Hang ($15).
GO: 2932 SE Division St., 503-477-6059, katiportland.com, 11:30 am-3 pm and 5-10 pm Tuesday-Sunday